quotations about basketball
Don't complicate winning.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
When playing vs. man to man, the defense decides who guards who. When playing against zone, the offense decides who guards who.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
The only important statistic is the final score.
BILL RUSSELL
attributed, Boston Celtics IQ: The Ultimate Test of True Fandom
Coaching is easy. Winning is the hard part.
ELGIN BAYLOR
The Sporting News, 1977
As I got better and better, there were a lot of double teams, and I drew a lot of defenders, so I had to learn how to pass the ball, and get it off to my teammates, because the more people that came to defend me, that means there are more openings for other players.
YAO MING
interview, Nov. 14, 2003
My thoughts were always that that night was the most important game in the world. Everybody in the world was watching that one game. And I had to be the best player on the court and win that game that night. That was my mentality, and it stuck with me all the way through my career.
LARRY BIRD
interview, ESPN, December 6, 2016
The single most important aspect of coaching is running effective practices.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
Being hip-hoppers, we were obliged to be obsessed with basketball.
NIKESH SHUKLA
Coconut Unlimited
The real secret behind top athlete's genius, then, may be as esoteric and obvious and dull and profound as silence itself. The real, many-veiled answer to the question of just what goes through a great player's mind as he stands at the center of hostile crowd-noise and lines up at the free-throw that will decide the game might well be: nothing at all.
DAVID FOSTER WALLACE
"How Tracy Austin broke my heart"
I just love the game of basketball so much. The game! I don't need the 18,000 people screaming and all the peripheral things. To me, the most enjoyable part is the practice and preparation.
BOB KNIGHT
attributed, Coach Yourself: A Motivational Guide for Coaches and Leaders
Basketball is a sport that involves the subtle interweaving of players at full speed to the point where they are thinking and moving as one.
PHIL JACKSON
Sacred Hoops
I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.
KOBE BRYANT
attributed, Team Work: Rediscovering the Essence of Basketball
We talk to these players a lot about a 4-count or a beat that you're playing this game at. It's just a 4-4 beat. And if you've got that ball in your hands longer than two seconds, you're holding up your team.
PHIL JACKSON
attributed, Team Work: Rediscovering the Essence of Basketball
The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.
BILL RUSSELL
attributed, Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance
On a good team there are no superstars. There are great players who show they are great players by being able to play with others as a team.
RED HOLZMAN
attributed, Team Work: Rediscovering the Essence of Basketball
Teams share the burden and divide the grief.
DOUG SMITH
attributed, Teamwork and Teamplay: Games and Activities for Building and Training Teams
But that's the thing about basketball: you don't play games on paper.
BILL SIMMONS
The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy
You can't win without the ball.
RED AUERBACH
ESPN, Jun. 2005
Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up.
RED AUERBACH
attributed, It's How You Play the Game
Basketball allowed me to revere my father without him knowing what I was up to. I took up basketball as a form of homage and mimicry.
PAT CONROY
My Losing Season: A Memoir